Obidov v. Wolf
- Katherine Failla
- 1:20-cv-08865
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 6
In Obidov v. Wolf, Judge Failla transferred review of Obidov’s naturalization denial to the Eastern District of New York because he lives in Brooklyn.
Aziz Obidov’s naturalization-review case and the government agency involved in his application; the case was moved from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York.
What happened
Aziz Obidov, representing himself, sued Chad F. Wolf after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied his naturalization application. Obidov said the agency failed to fix a defect in his record and asked the court for favorable action and money damages.
Obidov opposed transferring the case, arguing that an earlier related case in the Southern District of New York remained unresolved and that the government had not complied with agreements and orders from that case. The government supported transfer, although the opinion says it had not been properly served with the new lawsuit.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled that federal law requires judicial review of a naturalization denial in the district where the applicant lives. Because Obidov lives in Brooklyn, the court ordered the case transferred to the Eastern District of New York, directed that no summons issue from the Southern District, and closed the case there.
The detailed version
- Obidov v. Wolf · No. 1:20-cv-08865
- Katherine Failla
- Dec. 10, 2020
Background
Aziz Obidov filed this pro se action against Chad F. Wolf after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) denied his application for naturalization. Obidov alleged that USCIS refused to correct a defect related to his record, which he said affected his eligibility for U.S. citizenship and caused hardship. He asked the court to exercise discretion in his favor and award money damages.
The opinion describes an earlier related proceeding in the Southern District of New York. In that proceeding, Obidov had alleged that USCIS failed to decide his naturalization application within the period provided by 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b). The government agreed to adjudicate the application, and the earlier case was dismissed under an agreement. Obidov later sought to reopen that matter several times, alleging noncompliance with later agreements, but those requests were denied. The government eventually informed the court that USCIS had denied Obidov’s naturalization application and told him he could seek judicial review in the Eastern District of New York.
Transfer analysis
The court explained that judicial review of a naturalization denial must be brought in the federal district covering the applicant’s place of residence under 8 U.S.C. § 1421(c). The opinion states that Obidov lives in Brooklyn and that his application was handled by the USCIS Brooklyn Field Office. Brooklyn is within the Eastern District of New York.
The court rejected Obidov’s argument that the earlier related proceeding gave the Southern District authority to hear this case. The earlier case was closed, and the court stated that any remaining issues from that proceeding were not before it. Those issues therefore did not justify disregarding the statutory requirement governing review of the naturalization denial.
Disposition
The court directed that the action be transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). The Clerk was directed to transfer the action, no summons was to issue from the Southern District of New York, and the order closed the case. The order did not decide whether Obidov was entitled to naturalization, nor did it resolve the alleged record defect or his request for money damages.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.